Storing on blocks

[AK49er]

I will be putting the Queen B away for the winter soon and was wondering about storage for about 6 months. What are your thoughts about setting it off the ground on blocks? In my mind it seems like a good idea to relieve the tires and springs of 8500 lbs., or is it? What other long time storage is recommended besides battery maintenance? BTW, after trying many different ways and chemicals to really clean my Fiamma awning I came across the only cleaner that really worked...liquid Comet with bleach. It comes ready to use in a spray bottle. I just sprayed it on, rolled awning up and after about 1 hour rinsed it off well, no scrubbing at all! Anyway, thanks for all the help with my questions.

[mlts22]

I've read that blocks/jackstands are not recommended. Three reasons:

1: Placement of blocks/jackstands can cause frame damage if put in the wrong place.
2: The suspension is in a state it isn't designed to be in and can "droop", as well as be bad for the bushings which are not intended to be stored "hyperextended".
3: Storing vehicles on jackstands were for older cars. Newer ones are designed with very few spots on the frame that can support the vehicle's weight. Mainly the tires and a spot to jack the vehicle up if there is a flat.
4: It isn't weight on a suspension that wears it out, it is movement and the miles. Same reason one can store ammo in a magazine for long periods of time without causing the spring to wear out.

Instead, I'd store the vehicle with either plastic or a 2x6 under each tire. The reason is that cement sucks up moisture and can dry-rot tires.

[booster]

IMO it is always a good idea to put a stored vehicle on blocks, especially for the tires, and especially if they are Michelin which seem to be more prone to cracking sidewalls.

Springs do take a set from static load over time and will sag, so getting the load off them will help them. If you have airbags, inflating them to near max will give the springs a break and not hurt the bags. If you are concerned about the fully extended suspension, the normal method is to support the vehicle by two stands under the differential housing, two stands under the front a-arms, and then lift the body a bit on and put the normal 4 stands under the frame points. This gives you the best of all worlds, reduced load on the springs, etc, and no full extension of the the suspension.

If you don't put it on stands, you should pump up the tires to max rated pressure, and if possible, drive it a bit once in a while to get the tires in a different spot.

Plastic under the entire vehicle is a good idea if the area is dirt, or damp concrete, to keep moisture from condensing on the undercarriage, but I don't really like it under the tires as the plasticizer in the plastic can migrate and make them stick sometimes.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by AK49er

I will be putting the Queen B away for the winter soon and was wondering about storage for about 6 months. What are your thoughts about setting it off the ground on blocks? In my mind it seems like a good idea to relieve the tires and springs of 8500 lbs., or is it? What other long time storage is recommended besides battery maintenance? BTW, after trying many different ways and chemicals to really clean my Fiamma awning I came across the only cleaner that really worked...liquid Comet with bleach. It comes ready to use in a spray bottle. I just sprayed it on, rolled awning up and after about 1 hour rinsed it off well, no scrubbing at all! Anyway, thanks for all the help with my questions.

Thanks for the tip on the awning clean up.
I might give it a try.